Lane trials put brakes on traffic

Vehicles were seen crawling on four roads as the police blocked one lane on these stretches for Games traffic.

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Mail Today Bureau

New Delhi

September 15, 2010

UPDATED: September 15, 2010 08:59 IST

Office-goers had a tough time reaching their destinations on Tuesday morning as the Delhi traffic police conducted trials on lanes reserved for Commonwealth Games during peak hours.

Office-goers had a tough time on Tuesday morning.

Vehicles were seen crawling on four roads as the police blocked one lane on these stretches for Games traffic. The rehearsals, which started at 8 am, continued for two hours.

Despite being a rain-free day, long queues of vehicles could be seen at Ghazipur, on Kalkaji Mandir road, SP Marg and Mall Road during morning office hours.

Motorists complained that the space crunch on the roads led to slow movement of vehicles and they had to wait for more than 20 minutes while crossing the 2-3 km long stretch on Games routes. "It does not take more than 8-10 minutes to reach near Nizamuddin bridge from Ghazipur. Today, it took me around 30 minutes to cover the same distance," Anup Singhal, a Ghaziabad resident, said.

On all these stretches as well as its arterial roads, vehicles were seen choc-abloc and moving at a snail's pace. This was the first time that Delhi Police conducted trials on reserved lanes during peak hours.

The traffic police had to abort their plans to conduct trials on Monday because of rain. The trials are being conducted during peak hours to estimate the impact of the move once the reserved lanes come into effect after September 20.

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